Don’t be a Stranger

The importance of follow-up for selling virtual tours:

Making new contacts and leads for your virtual tour business is a great idea, but how often are you following up with them? If you’re in the habit of abandoning leads the first time they decline a virtual tour, you’re missing out on a huge source of potential income—because surprisingly few sales are made with the first contact.

According to the National Sales Executive Association and the Association of Professional Salesman:• 2 percent of sales are closed at first contact• 3 percent are made with second contact• 5 percent happen on third contact• 10 percent are made with fourth contact• The remaining 80 percent happen from the fifth to twelfth contact

Following up with your potential virtual tour customers—even just once—can increase your virtual tour sales noticeably. Keep at it, and you’ll see a dramatic boost in sales.

Why follow-up works:The secret to the success of following up is pretty simple: you’re building relationships and awareness. When you follow up with people, even if they haven’t purchased a virtual tour from you, it tells them that you have an interest in what they’re doing, and that you want to see them succeed. They’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about how a virtual tour can benefit their business.Awareness is another byproduct of following up. The process helps to remind them that virtual tours exist—and the next time they need to work on their marketing strategies, they’ll be more likely to consider your services.

How to follow up—and how not to:Many salespeople make the mistake of following up with a simple acknowledgment and a vague reminder that their product or service exists. It’s usually along the lines of, “It was great talking to you at Networking Event. If you ever need a Widget, be sure to think of me.” This tactic is supposed to avoid hard selling to prospects, but all it really does is make you forgettable.

How should you follow up with a lead? First, make it personal. Offer a specific piece of information from your initial contact, whether it was online or in person, that shows you were paying attention and found something engaging about the prospect’s business. Second, offer them something of value. Instead of simply mentioning that you have virtual tours available, consider a first-time discount for real estate professionals, or a free bonus for clients with businesses who will only need one virtual tour.

Most importantly, make sure to follow up more than once with every prospect, and watch your virtual tour sales grow!